Language of the Axis
by HanakoAnimeaddict
Summary: They met through Feliciano.  They... didn't have much to say, but they managed to surpass that.  AU.
1. Chapter 1

"Warnings": (Since this is apparently for triggery things... this is more of what to expect?) Germany/Japan (so shounen-ai)... language barriers, etc.

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><p>There was nothing more awkward than meeting someone who couldn't understand you. There was nothing worse than having to deal with another person who also doesn't understand you. Or at least, Ludwig would love to believe that.<p>

The thing was, though it wasn't a significant event, there was something worse than those two things combine—he fell, even if he doesn't know when, in love with the third person, Kiku Honda. The problem was that their languages weren't similar… at all. He couldn't read it, write it, and could barely pronounce the words without stumbling over the multiple vowels and w.

Kiku, on the other hand, couldn't get the sound of the German words right, and often messed up on the spelling. The Japanese student couldn't seem to understand when the word required a diacritic, or when a certain word required an eszett instead of two "s".

Their mutual friend, and the one who introduced them to each other, Feliciano was a native Italian, and could only speak that language. Based on former experiences, Ludwig could identify a few words here and there, but he was just as confused about Feliciano as he was about Kiku.

Though the language barrier, as both Alfred and Arthur called it, caused some problems, they still were able to form a strong bond based on similar interested, similar hobbies, and their broken English. It was through those things that he realized that he might've cared for Kiku more than he did for Feli.

That was something he didn't want to admit, and at first, he thought it was something completely different. He thought, by chance, that he was attracted to the language, that he liked the way the Japanese spoke. He thought that he had what some (or all) would call a language kink.

Or maybe, though not as likely, he might just like Kiku's voice. Of course, that would mean that he was falling in love with the student, and he couldn't be falling in love—he just said that he wouldn't let anything distract him from doing better.

It was with that (excuse) thought in mind that he started to avoid Kiku. It… didn't work, as Kiku worked as hard as he did (and he was also in Ludwig's class… but that's a story for later.) A problem, one that was worse, was that he was constantly forced to be with Kiku because he was never able to deny Feliciano of anything—he was pathetically weak, and many (including his brother) thought that they were lovers.

If he was worried about what could happen when he was stuck with both Kiku and Feliciano, he was having a panic attack when he was left alone with Kiku. Though he didn't know much about relationships, he knew that he couldn't suddenly confess to Kiku—he knew that many would view it as romantic, but he didn't think Kiku would be all that happy with receiving a sudden confession. Kiku would freak out about a hug (from Feliciano, who often invades people's personal space, which doesn't make the hug shocking), and Ludwig could only imagine his reaction to a love confession.

The thought of Kiku, sweet, innocent, shy Kiku, ever responding to a confession in a positive manner (like reciprocating his feelings) was very small. He couldn't even imagine his feelings being reciprocated—that was impossible on many levels.

Even with an air of despondence, he managed to create a fake air of stoicism, one that many, if not all students, couldn't break. The wall he tried to build, to distance himself from Kiku—his downfall—was slowly crumbling to dust before him, and he could only watch.

He didn't feel like rebuilding the wall, just to have it fall again. He didn't want to go through the process over and over again, just to keep falling in love with him (even more than the last time).

In school, it's hard to say that it's a language kink, that he likes the way the language sounds. He could hear Alfred attempting to say a few words (which he knew… by heart), and he couldn't help but to wince as he heard those words. It wasn't that the words were mangled—shocking, since he managed to mangle the words of every other language—but it was like a confirmation.

He didn't want to know he was in love with Kiku—he didn't want that distraction. Then again, he knew what the Japanese student was like, so he highly doubts that Kiku would "distract" him.

This feeling (crap) subject is very complex.


	2. Chapter 2

"Warnings": (Since this is apparently for triggery things... this is more of what to expect?) Germany/Japan (so shounen-ai)... language barriers, etc.

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><p>Ludwig flushed slightly as he was caught off-guarded by his own brother—no doubt that he'd get a lecture about the Italian or… how awesome he was. So, it goes without saying that he was shocked when Gilbert started talking about Kiku.<p>

"What—what do you mean?" His brother had chastised him for not admitting he had a crush on the Japanese student, though he wasn't sure if his brother was being serious, or just trying to annoy him (and get him to confess that the liked the Italian, which was not true.)

The tender light in his brother's eyes worried him a bit, but he managed to still convince himself that this was a joke. It couldn't be more than a joke—everyone thought he and Feliciano were dating (and… neither of them really tried to deny that.)

Through the conversation, most of which included Gilbert chiding him for not telling "his awesome older brother" about his love for Kiku, he found that Gilbert might be a bit more observant than he gave him credit for. He also found that Gilbert was interested in Feli (not something he would condone if he raised the Italian), but that was something he didn't pay much attention to.

It also didn't help when Gilbert, someone who was pretty much shameless (he hollered vulgar words, and shouted innuendoes) told him that he would tell Kiku if he, Ludwig, didn't confess anytime soon. Thankfully, he had an advantage when it came to that—Kiku wouldn't be able to understand Gilbert, and Gilbert couldn't speak Japanese (except for those few random words).

That still didn't explain how he ended up doing this, though. He doesn't know why he bothered to listen to his brother, and invite his friends out for lunch. The overly-formal setting didn't help ease his mood—the place was lavishly decorated, and it looked as if one would take another out for a date here.

"Please give the chopsticks," Ludwig muttered in Japanese since Kiku was the one near the chopsticks.

Instead of getting the chopsticks as he hoped, Kiku stared at him in shock. He didn't know much Japanese, so he assumed that the sentence he muttered shocked Kiku, but then, Kiku started to attempt an explanation on the difference between the word "chopstick" and "bridge".

He listened as well as he could—even he, a native German speaker had to admit that his German was good for someone who only started to learn a year or two ago—but the words were sometimes confusing as he kept lapsing back in Japanese.

From what he could get, the intonations of the words mattered—the Japanese word for both chopstick and bridge was "hashi".

The day only got worse from there—Gilbert had not only attempted to keep his promise, he tried to rope his two (best) friends into helping him. So, on top of his brother and Feliciano knowing, both Francis and Antonio knew about his crush too.

It was difficult for him to keep a façade of nonchalance, of stoicism. He so badly wanted to break down and smile warmly at Kiku. He knew that it would not only frighten Kiku (and the rest of the student body), but that it would confuse him even more—he could tell that Kiku wanted to question him, but wouldn't because he didn't like to pry.

It was because of Kiku that he was somewhat thankful but somewhat wary as he knew that curiosity could (and would) bring down even the strongest man. He knew that it was only a matter of time before Kiku would speak up, and he'd have to answer (or at least make up an excuse.)

Even if that didn't come up soon, he knew he wasn't ready to explain things. But maybe, maybe when the time comes, he'd have fallen out of love with Kiku, or Kiku would fall in love with him—Ludwig believed that the first rather than the latter would happen.

There was nothing that Ludwig could do—he could only go on, and hope that there was an end within reach. The end would either come in the form of a question, one he still couldn't answer honestly, or would come with an offer to move—he hoped it was the latter.

"Brother," he heard Gilbert mutter suddenly. He wasn't curious as to why Gilbert bothered him—it probably had something to do with stroking his already huge ego—but his brother was as stubborn as he was, so it went without saying that he continued to press onwards. "What if I told you that your _friend_ was seeing someone else?"

Before he could stop himself, he jumped to his feet and glared at his brother—it was purely instinct. When his mind caught up, he flushed slightly, but muttered, "Just shut up." To make sure he wouldn't hear anything, he removed himself from the premise, and found himself in Alfred's room.


	3. Chapter 3

"Warnings": (Since this is apparently for triggery things... this is more of what to expect?) Germany/Japan (so shounen-ai)... language barriers, song references (I have Magnet by the Vocaloids).

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><p>Ludwig found himself laughing quietly, almost as if he was amused by the joke that Feliciano told. Quite honestly, he didn't even understand it, and he was only using it as an excuse to cover up his nervousness. In all honesty, he wasn't pleased to be here, with both Kiku and Feliciano.<p>

It had been Feli's idea (it always was), and Ludwig hadn't been able to say no to him. Ignoring the pleased look (along with that "ve~"), he somehow managed to delude himself into thinking that Kiku wouldn't be there, or that Kiku wouldn't be worried about him.

Kiku beckoned him, telling him to meet the other outside to speak. Glancing at Feliciano (who had his eyes closed, and… most likely couldn't see out of them), he snuck outside, curious as to what the other wanted that he couldn't say in front of the Italian. Part of him hoped it was a love confession, but the rational part told that side to shut up, and to stop thinking about it.

"Ludwig-san." He found the suffix (though he wasn't exactly sure about its significance) almost cute, and he could feel the corner of his lips quirking into a small (insignificant) smile. To cover it, he coughed into his hand.

"Yes, Kiku?" He forced himself to sound normal, to sound as if he didn't care too much for the question, as if he didn't have a crush on him. It didn't sound convincing to him, but that might've been because he already knew.

"Are you okay?" The flush on Kiku's face indicated that he wasn't comfortable with asking, but he preserved. It warmed his heart; his friend would ask him about his well-being, even if it wasn't in his nature.

"Yes, I'm fine, Kiku." He wanted to say something about being in love with him, and he came up with the perfect solution. Instead of saying it in Japanese ("Aishiteru", if the internet was to be trusted), he would say it in German—Kiku probably hadn't learned it yet. "I love you," he whispered in German.

"What did you say?" Kiku asked in German—he was amazed that he was able to say a sentence like that, and sound… authentic.

"Ah, it's nothing," he replied. The answer sounded vague at best, but he didn't know what else he could say. "I mean it's nothing to be concerned about."

"I see. Thank you." Kiku's eyes held that determination that he was sure would destroy him—he knew that Kiku would look for the meaning of those words.

"We should go," he told Kiku in Japanese. "Feliciano is worried." He wasn't quite sure as to how to say "Feliciano will worry if we don't go get him soon", so he shortened it.

"Yes." Almost hesitantly, Kiku added, "I believe he's looking for you."

His eyes widened considerably, confused by the statement, but still amazed that Kiku (a Japanese person) could speak German that well. "Ah, yes. I should get him," he replied in Japanese. At least, that's what he hoped he said.

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><p>That night, his brother decided to go to karaoke, leaving him with no choice but to follow—he knew that his brother would get his hands on alcohol, and that's never a good thing. Ludwig was shocked to find that other people had arrived—he knew Alfred, Feliciano, Lovino (he was curious as to why he came), Yao, Ivan and… Kiku. It was already an uncomfortable day… and it would only get worse.<p>

"Luddy—"

He immediately flinched at that nickname his brother had originally given him; it became popular, and then Gilbert felt like he needed to change it to something awesome, hence the birth of the nickname "West".

"—wants to sing a song! Any takers?" Before anyone could reply, he set his sights on Kiku. "Ah, Kiku~ You look like you'd do a good job~ Come, sing with my awesome brother!"

He knew that Kiku probably understood a few words in those sentences, so he went up to explain it in rough Japanese. "He said we're to sing."

"Ah, thank you Ludwig," he murmured in German. Before Ludwig could embarrass himself by saying something sweet, icky, and cliché, his brother grabbed his arm, and started tugging on it. He knew that Gilbert wouldn't be able to pull him if he resisted but instead, he got up, and took a microphone.

"What song are we singing," he asked Gilbert almost reluctantly in German.

The other grinned, and Ludwig felt himself tense, waiting for the moment that he'd hear his song. It was never a good thing, and his brother always made sure to record the moment (or do something that'd get on the local news—it's not a shocker that everyone knows him here.)

"Ah, I knew you wanted to learn Japanese, so I thought this song would do well for you~" Gilbert paused to laugh (it was extremely creepy.) "Franny was also going on about how great it was, you know… something about l'mour… which I'm sure is love in French." He patiently waited for his brother to finish his monologue. "The song is Magnet."

He had no reaction. He didn't know that many Japanese songs, he didn't know who even sang a song called "Magnet", but Kiku's reaction told him that it was either an embarrassing song, or a song that had embarrassing factors. He was about to protest, to ask for something different (though, he wasn't sure what was so bad about it), when Gilbert pressed enter.

The lyrics came up, in German and Japanese (though he had to be careful to not sing it), and he flushed as he realized what this was about. On the other hand, the lyrics were extremely distracting—he had a hard time singing with just the Japanese one, and it was even more difficult with the second set of lyrics appearing in German, tempting him into singing it.

Overall, this day was hell, and he couldn't wait for the next day.

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><p>Just a small note (who speaks what):<p>

Alfred: American-English, learning Japanese  
>Ludwig: German, learning Japanese<br>Kiku: Japanese, English (to an extent), learning German  
>Feliciano: Italian, learning German (there, a hint for a pairing... even more than before)<br>Gilbert: German, wants to learn other languages... but... his pride won't let him.  
>Francis (mentioned): French, learning Spanish and Italian<br>Antonio (mentioned): Spanish, learning Italian  
>Lovino: Italian, Spanish<br>Yao: Chinese  
>Ivan: Russian, English (*cough*I didn't forget that Gil hated Ivan. Nope*cough*)<p> 


End file.
